Score 1 for the little guy: Cards' rookie beats odds

April 09, 2006|BY BERNIE MIKLASZ. Bernie Miklasz is a sports columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

A case of perfectly fresh, cold Budweiser was spilled for a good cause on Wednesday night in Philadelphia. The occasion was the major-league baptism of Jared Michael Schumaker, age 26.

Jared is his formal name. His baseball name is "Skip," which probably is better in that it personifies his personality, and style of play. Skip is on the small side. As far as height goes, Skip might be able to look down on David Eckstein and Aaron Miles, but that's about it.

The rookie doesn't have much power, isn't especially fast. But managers are fond of him because he plays hard, applies the old-school fundamentals and has skill in tracking fly balls. It's all about survival. All about digging in with his cleats to stay planted in that major-league grass and dirt for as long as he can.

Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park, Schumaker made his second major-league start, and he made it a night to remember by popping his first big-league homer into the seats in right. Playing in left field and batting sixth in the low-budget end of the lineup, Schumaker made other valuable contributions in the St. Louis Cardinals' 4-3 victory: a single, two runs scored and a key, two-out walk in the ninth that extended the inning for the next hitter, Yadier Molina, who stroked the winning RBI single.

The walk was a primer on how Schumaker must play to stay in the majors. He's not going to smash prodigious homers, steal 25 bases or get ESPN anchors hollering about him. No, he must be a pest. Just buzz around, get his hits, play that fine defense, and make something happen.

"I take it day by day," Schumaker said. "I was fortunate enough to make the team this spring, and now I have to do whatever I can to stay."

This was an active, starry night for Schumaker, but the postgame bird bath was prompted by the home run.

"I loved it," Schumaker said. "I have 24 teammates, so I think I had 24 beers poured on me. It was really cold, but I'll take it anytime. I'm not going to hit home runs very often."

As his potential homer carried closer to the wall, Schumaker didn't quite believe what he was seeing.

"Please keep going," Schumaker recalled saying as he watched the ball in flight. "Please go out. I just wasn't sure. But once it cleared, I didn't think I could run around the bases fast enough to get in the dugout."

That baseball, carrying Schumaker's hopes, landed in a sweet but improbable spot. This was yet another example of why we love the game, which brings us so many surprises and delights over 162 games.

Over the winter, the Cardinals invested $15 million in a free-agent contract for Juan Encarnacion. They also made a trade for left fielder Larry Bigbie. And the muscular John Rodriguez was considered a strong possibility to claim a job in the outfield. Schumaker was mostly an afterthought. But some guys just refuse to say no. They keep giving the manager reasons to take a closer look.

But by the time it was time to load up the trucks at the end of spring training, Schumaker was on the 25-man roster. Bigbie went down with a stress fracture in his foot. Rodriguez bruised a shoulder. Manager Tony La Russa gave a jersey to Schumaker.

And on Wednesday, Schumaker looked like the star of the competition. He makes $329,000, just above the major-league minimum salary, and he'll be spending some of that on his cell-phone bill.

After the game, Schumaker had 10 text messages and six voice mails from family, friends and ex-teammates.